Tassie university students leading the way in national basketball comp

The undefeated women's team, featuring Launceston Tornadoes' Josie Pinkerton, are top of the University Basketball League ladder with six wins while the men have five wins and one loss.

The sides are being led by Tassie basketball greats Anthony Stewart and Mark Nash and have three games to go until finals.

The teams are in their second season of the UBL which is a nine-week competition involving 14 universities.

Players from Launceston, the North-West and Hobart are joining forces for mid-week games all around Australia.

Many also play for the state's NBL1 outfits, the Tornadoes, North-West Thunder and Hobart Chargers.

The university's sports operations manager Anthony Jusup said it was about providing students with the opportunity to further their basketball while studying.

He said it was also about creating a stepping stone between club basketball and the NBL1.

Jusup said the program's professionalism had gone up a notch in 2024 with a focus on off-court aspects including nutrition and strength and conditioning.

He said there were squads of 16 male and 16 female players and he anticipates the demand for spots will grow.

He added the program was funded almost entirely by the university, including flights and accommodation.

Alex Bestwick and Ruben Carlsson, who hail from Hobart, play in the men's team and know their teammates well as they have played with or against them over the years.

Meanwhile Josie Pinkerton, who also plays with Launceston Tornadoes and studies architecture, has been getting to know her mostly Hobart-based teammates.

She said one of the best aspects of the program was its flexibility.

"As professional as it's trying to be, it isn't putting too much stress on the students and taking away from their study," the 23-year-old said.

"The emphasis is still on the fact that we're all students and have to do our full-time or part-time study.

"So if we can't make it, we can't make it."

Pinkerton said she covered incredible kilometres.

"Last week I was in Western Australia for three days for our away (university) game," she said.

"Then I ended up in Mount Gambier for the Tornadoes game on Friday, and then was in Keilor (for Torns) on Sunday.

"So I was pretty much out of Launceston the whole week, but that's the thing, it means I can play both."

Pinkerton, who grew up in Newcastle before moving to Launceston two years ago, highlighted that the UTAS women were leading the table despite being less centralised than other teams.

"We're probably one of the only unis that are involved that have multiple campuses within the state," she said.

"So I think Tasmania has it even harder with me being in Launceston and a lot of other girls in Hobart. Most unis have one campus that all of their students are from."